| As a member of a car club I often wonder what | | | | in my classes would argue which cars were |
| inspires others like myself to join such an | | | | better, depending, of course, on what their |
| organization. Certainly the cameraderie, the sense | | | | fathers drove. Most of the time it was Mustang |
| of being part of a big family, is an important | | | | vs. Corvette vs. Charger vs. GTO. I got many |
| factor. The club I belong to is devoted to all | | | | laughs when I contributed Volkswagens to the |
| Volkswagens, old and new. The question for | | | | debates, but I didn't care. I thought the "bug" was |
| others fascinated with these cars is, What got us | | | | better-looking than any of those cars, and I still |
| interested in Volkswagens in the first place? | | | | do. I didn't and still don't care about 0-60 times. It |
| There are probably as many stories of inspiration | | | | has been said that beauty is in the eye of the |
| as there are dandelions in my front yard every | | | | beholder, and VW owners can all concur.Sadly, in |
| Spring. With that said, here is mine.I was born in | | | | 1970, after 13 years of dependable service and |
| 1959, and my memory goes as far back as 1962, | | | | about 257,000 kilometers (160,000 miles,)my |
| when I was about two and a half years old. In | | | | father had decided that it was no longer |
| those days generally only one parent was the | | | | cost-effective to keep the car. Many trips to |
| breadwinner, as was the case with my father. | | | | Oklahoma and the perpetual road salt that |
| We only had one car, and besides, my mother | | | | covered highways during Midwest winters had |
| didn't know how to drive. The car we had was a | | | | taken their toll, and when the amateur patching of |
| 1957 Oval Window Beetle that was purchased | | | | bodywork no longer helped it was time to say |
| "new" in Kansas City, Missouri. I say "new" | | | | good-bye to our Beetle. A salvage yard offered a |
| because at that time there were waiting lists | | | | mere $25 for the VW, so my father gave it to a |
| much like there would be forty-one years later | | | | friend to use as a parts car. I vividly remember |
| when the New Beetle first hit showrooms. Back in | | | | fighting back tears as the friend gave us a ride |
| 1957, my father's 1946 Chevy was worn out and | | | | back to our home. It was as if we had lost a |
| he started his search for a new car. He became | | | | member of the family, and as far as I was |
| interested in Volkswagens after reading about | | | | concerned we had.I got my Drivers' License in |
| them in the popular publications of the day.A good | | | | 1976, but I was in a hand-me-down Ford |
| ten years before hippies would exersise the | | | | Maverick. Considering the manner in which I drove |
| concept of nonconformity, my father decided | | | | at 16, it's nothing short of a miracle that I am |
| that he wanted a car that would stand out from | | | | alive to tell this tale nearly thirty years later. |
| the usual gigantic, tail-finned, gas-guzzling dinosaurs | | | | Moving on to 1978, I at last had my own |
| that roamed the streets during that period. It | | | | Volkswagen, a 1971 Super Beetle. In the early |
| cost less,too. For a tad over $1700 he acquired a | | | | 1980's I had two more Beetles. In 2000, after |
| salesman's demonstrator with just a few | | | | trying various other makes I longed for a VW |
| kilometers showing on the odometer. Yes, | | | | again and bought a 1996 Golf, followed by a 1969 |
| kilometers (for those of you US readers). This | | | | Beetle three years later. Up to that time I was |
| was a European-spec model, complete with | | | | the only member of our VW club who did not |
| semaphore turn-signals (literally, for those not | | | | own a classic air-cooled model from the early |
| familiar with Volkswagens, an arm that flapped | | | | years. In nearly 46 years of life in this world, I |
| out of the side of both doors that flashed, | | | | have calculated that 22 of those have been with |
| indicating which direction the driver intended to | | | | a Volkswagen.I have reached the point of no |
| turn)as well as one-piece bumpers. (US-spec | | | | return now. I will always own a VW of some sort. |
| models had overriders.) Thanks to my father, I | | | | My 8-year-old daughter has already picked her |
| knew the difference between miles and | | | | first car; a New Beetle. Kids have a tendency to |
| kilometers by the time I was just five years old. | | | | change their minds quite often as new interests |
| It was amusing to watch my friends gasp as we | | | | are acquired, but in this case, I don't think she will. |
| would cruise down the highway at 62 miles an | | | | It runs in the family.Pat Sills is an avid Volkswagen |
| hour while they thought we were going 100.It | | | | enthusiast and writes articles and feature stories |
| would be many years before I would start driving, | | | | for his club's Newsletter. His first novel, |
| but I knew that I would be driving a Volkswagen | | | | REUNIONS, was published in March, 2005. Check it |
| someday. When I was in elementary school in the | | | | out at: |
| mid and late 1960's, the Muscle-Car Era, the boys | | | | or at: authorsden. |